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Saturday, April 10, 2010

WHAT'S WRONG WITH FOOD SERVICE IN OUR SCHOOLS

What’s wrong with food service in our schools?

Let me start by saying I’m no expert but I am a parent of two school ages kids and also own Organic Vending which provides over 30 school districts with organic and natural snacks and beverages. So I’ve worked with a few food service directors and can add that perspective to this piece.

Many food service directors care about what the kids eat. Many don’t and just respond to pressure from parents by making a halfhearted attempt to do a healthy meal, which is doomed to fail just so they can say they tried. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard “The kids just won’t eat that crap” Wrong. They won’t eat crap but they will eat organic and natural if you do it right.

The food service directors I have worked with are wonderful and really do care about what the kids eat. They realize that food affects behavior and learning. These links provide some good information on the subject.

www.wanttoknow.info
www.cspinet.org


I worked with a few school districts to offer Amy’s organic burritos in the high school as a lunch option. We were able to price it at under $3.00 and we promoted it to the students with signs letting them know it’s available. They sold out. I would have loved to continue that program but I just was not set up to do frozen foods in large quantities and the Sysco and US foods of the world just don’t carry anything like that.
Let’s talk about price. Many school food service directors feel the price of organic food is too expensive and they would have to sell it for a price the kids won’t pay. In regards to full meals they are right. Organic and natural is too expensive for any program to use it on a regular basis. This of course is the heart of the problem.

The problem lies not with the food service directors per say but the school boards and superintendents that don’t put what the kids eat as a priority. The pressure on food service directors to make money or at least have the program break even is enormous. I’ve actually heard some of them say the making a profit for the program is the #1 priority. You can have wellness committees and policies but they are in my opinion meaningless unless what the kids eat is at the heart of what they do.

Think about this. I think sports are of course very important. Many schools fund programs like football and soccer and budget for costs related to those programs and they should but the one thing that effects ALL of the kids, what they eat in school, is not considered by many boards as being something that should be subsidized.

Please keep in mind this is my experience in dealing with many school districts. There are those out there that are finally getting it. We need to do more.

I can tell you that trying to get all the kids snacks changed to just veggies and fruit is a difficult task. I think of course these should be options but kids want to snack. They want chips and cookies and popcorn. Healthy is not just low fat or low carb. It’s also products without artificial flavors, Colors, Preservatives, Trans fats and hydrogenated oils or fructose corn syrup. There are many wonderful organic and natural snack options that kids love and are without all the chemicals. I know because in the schools where Organic Vending is the kid’s love the snacks and beverages.

If you are a food service director or wellness committee member or just a concerned parent I would be more that happy to make snack suggestions to your food service directors about what the kids will eat that they can also sell for $1.00 or less. I can help them source the product at the best price (not from me) and provide information they need to sell the program to the powers that be. My E-mail is Bobwolf@theorganicwholesaleclub.com

I would also like your comments and suggestions. Please post them here.

Thank you!
Bob Wolf
Partner
Organic Wholesale Club
www.organicwholesaleclub.com

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

We are finally live!

Look for a post tomorrow about what's wrong with the system that decides what our kids eat in school. I will give you the inside thoughts of some food service directors in large districts who comment "off the record".

Bob

New Joke

Check out our new poll and new "Green" joke at our Organic Joke Blog

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Why did the free range chicken cross the road


Got a good one to add? Send it to bobwolf@theorganicwholesaleclub.com
Check out more great cartoons at http://lifeinheck.com/


Jokes by Bill keller for www.organicwholesaleclub.com

Sunday, March 14, 2010

Murphys law

Just when you think you've got it done something comes up to bite you in the butt. We wanted to be live on Friday but alas it had to be put off till next Thursday due to some tech issues. I won't put the site up till I can correct everything that gets in the way of it being easy for customers to navigate. So we put on the hard hats and get to work. Of course once up and in use we will find new things to work on and that's all part of the process.

Friday, March 12, 2010

Monday, March 1, 2010

What are we nuts!





It’s one thing to have an idea and quite another to actually do it and realize what the hell did I get myself into! When we first started I really had no clue what it would take to put this thing together and I can honestly say although the process was overwhelming I learned a lot along the way.  Such as…

1-If you think you thought of everything think again!
2- be prepared to change your whole business model based on new information
3-Go see a good Therapist and make sure you’re not really CRAZY!

All that being said we are ready to go and very excited with what The Organic Wholesale Club can do. In my next blog I will talk about a program I’m developing to bring organic products to low income school districts at or below cost. I will welcome all idea’s ask some of you to help get this program going where you live. What we feed our kids at school is so vital to their physical and mental well being and it’s totally overlooked by most school districts.

I wanted to include our first press release and a request for Beta Testers in this my first blog. Wish us luck and your comments are appreciated!

Bob Wolf
Founder
Organic Wholesale club

Press Release.

The Organic Wholesale Club launched its direct to consumer E-commerce site offering true wholesale prices on over 15.000 organic and natural items.  Offering a wide product line including organic baby food, all natural snacks, Organic Pasta and thousands of other organic and natural grocery items The Organic Wholesale Club takes a giant leap towards making Organic and natural living more affordable.

 Through revenue generated by our low membership fee of only $25 per year The Organic Wholesale Club is able to offer discounts of around 30% off of SRP every day of the year. Monthly specials will bring additional discounts in the 35-50% range.  To keep our product prices low and give value to membership we have created affiliate programs with The Organic Wine Company (www.theorganicwinecompany.com) which offers over 100 organic wines shipped direct to the customer and the Greensbury Market (www.greensburymarket.com) which sells Organic Beef, Chicken and pork products. Club members get 10% off all products in web stores.


“It’s all about saving money and time” says Katherine Weiss Co founder of the club. “Our goal is to make The Organic Wholesale Club the only stop you need to make to buy all your organic and natural grocery items”

We are open for business and Beta testing the site. In that effort we are looking for 100 people to give free memberships to in exchange for feedback on their shopping experience. Please contact us at info@theorganicwholesaleclub.com


About the Organic Wholesale Club LLC (www.theorganicwholesaleclub.com)

Art Darrow, Bob Wohlfeld, and Katherine Weiss founded the Organic Wholesale Club. Bob Wohlfeld created the nations first Organic and natural vending business in 2005 (www.organicvending.net). In just 5 years it has grown to hundreds of accounts including many school districts and colleges. Aramatic Refreshment a major player in vending in several states bought Organic Vending in 2008 and expanded the organic and natural line to over 2500 vending machines. Art Darrow a 40-year vending and food service veteran saw the demand for healthier products and acted on it. Katherine Weiss founded the Healthy Snack Store (www.healthysnackstore.com) in 2005 and while working full time as an English teacher built it into a thriving E-commerce site. Organic Wholesale Club bought the Healthy Snack Store in December 2009.



Contact
Bob Wohlfeld
VP of Marketing
The Organic Wholesale Club
518-392-4553
Bobwolf@theorganicwholesaleclub.com

Saturday, February 27, 2010